Both of these dogs are really well put together, and theyre brindles and this is always awesome. what kennels are they out of?

Red brindles are my favorite and I agree with Claire that there are a lot of muddy pups in the states. Good pups, but as a matter of opinion, muddy. I like very distinct stripes and very vivid red, which is really hard to come by it seems. I would like to see lines of high quality red brindles that focus in the brindle part. There are some excellent silver brindle kennels, but I want red :D

And with what is popular at the moment: black brindles and silver brindles, as badass as they are, it doesn't seem like there is much hope for improving red brindles. But I have hope and I know this is going to happen in the foreseen future :)

That is my assumption, the amount of stripage. It's like you need either a dog to be so thick and muddy with stripes that the dog is "black brindle" or you need the dog to have not very much stripage at all. One extreme or the other. Which I am okay with, I like black brindles.

I think it would be great if one could pinpoint and prove how to control the amount of stripage genetically. I've had discussions of this before, mainly just absorbing information, but it doesn't seem like there is an efficient way yet to breed for distinct, bold, sparse stripes, which, is what I prefer on a dog. I mean, you won't get a black brindle out of the red brindle I posted, but that is about as much as I know if one was to accurately predicting brindling.

Brindles need to have a clearly defined stripe pattern. In one of my many books this is how they defined the brindles. They only kept it to three styles:

Kurotora, Akatora, and Shimofuri. All brindles have the following colors mixed into them: red, black, gray, and white. The amount of each color indicates which category it falls into. On all brindles, the thin stripes should be clearly seen. The black brindle (Kurotora) should be basically all black, gray and white; the red color should not be apparent. In a red brindle (Akatora), the should be a combination of all four colors, but red should be the most prevalent color.

The subtype mentioned above is the Shimofuri(There is no English translation for this word.) However the word is derived from when frost covers the cut part of rice plants. These plants are cut from the base, and that appearance is called shimofuri. Can be based as a Kurotora or Akatora but it has white hair interwoven in the facial area. The white color is not spotted or streaked, but it weaves through the brindle pattern.

Today people take Kurotora and define it further with black brindles that produce a blueish tint and silver brindles that represent the other end of the spectrum. I always thought it was interesting that the author didn't feel that the Shimofuri pattern could go into the body. This was written in 1990 and over time, terms and tastes have changed. I feel like I am seeing less and less Akatora's in the Akiho magazine and more and more Kurotora's (showing more silver than black in them.)

wait, I"m still a little confused as to what Shimofuri is. does it occur on a part of the body? I guess I am confused because I have always seen brindle as black stripes -overlaying- a white and red background, so I don't really see how white stripes can weave -through- a brindling pattern. And by no means am I disagreeing, I really just don't understand?

I've heard that the brindling on the legs of an akita should look as if they just walked through snow, fading gradually and from the white socks to the deep brindling of the upper leg. (except kurotora, that would be impossible) Does this correlate with shimofuri or am I completely way off?

According to the author, it occurs in the face. If we look the silver I posted and Tim's Karin, I think what the author is talking about is the white striping jumps out on the silver female that I posted where as the black stripes dominant on Karin.

I have seen brindles that lack a white blaze or visible urajiro in the face, but do seem to have "greying" (not due to age) on the muzzle and cheeks. Its kind of salt-and-peppery and seems most common on silver brindles. Maybe that's shimofuri?

Google images for the term reveals that its a name of very marbled cut of meat:

By the way @*JackBurton* I visited that puppy (posted above). He's no longer a silver! His coat is very ... unique.

and here is another good example of good red brindle.one of very nice red brindle in japan. Unkai. won 2nd in 126th hq show.

another red brindle. won 3rd in same show. but I don't prefer this color.

It's really hard to find border for silver and black.My karin is more black brindle. she was really black when she was pup and getting more grey. and tachi is more red brindle.i personally don't like light red(orange color) brindle. it's just my preference but I do like this Unkai type of red.

you can't really describe silver brindle=white stripes on face.karins sire. he is silver brindle.same dog after 1 year. i don't think this dog is black brindle but has black stripes.also japanese breeder consider these dogs to be silver brindle.

my question. what do you think about this brindle color below? is this silver? black? Kozaki(breeder) told me this female has best color coat ever from brindle.(not overall quality but coat only^^)

as I must point out, being a photographer, photographs can be very deceiving, especially when judging Akitas online because you have to account for: "did they stand in a bad pose for 3 second while the camera flashed, were they out of coat, was the camera angle bad for the angle of the fur, was the photo taken when the dog was so concerned about something else that their tail fell off their back, ect..."

BUT having said that, I think that the akita you asked about, (presumably female?), her coat looks great. Color doesn't matter, it is the quality of the coat. The fur looks to stand at a 90' angle, or you know, pretty close to that.... i don't think any dog's coat stands exactly 90 degrees, but you know that i mean.

Also, to judge from that photo, it cannot be said if the dog is silver or black brindle simply because the lighting sucks in the photo. There are so many shadows coupling with the angle of the dog facing the camera that it is impossible to make a definite decision. Sorry, but the lighting isn't informative enough to answer your question.

I would recommend photographing a dog inside, have the body face towards a -very open- window, and photograph with the sunlight shining on the dog. The light will be diluted at best, but still be harsh enough to bring out the brindling. Trust me, I am a photographer with an iphone. (and also a canon 5D markII, but that is not what i use to photograph my pup most often).

All are good looking dogs nevertheless! A photograph can never lie about soundness :)

I think that's why brindle never gets broken up into defined subgroups. Figuring out red brindle vs black is easy. That is why I like the definition that I used as it defines a brindle by the largest % of a certain color.

I really don't like the heads on the early dogs in the photo. I know that is how the show the dog but sometimes it gives our dogs the akita version of a double chin or double forehead for that matter. I like the head set for the ones you posted later in this topic much much better.

Jf is right on the money with the camera comment. I almost always find myself using lightroom just for the fill-light feature.

@jellyfart "Trust me, I am a photographer with an iPhone"LOL I'm sorry but that just had me cracking up, watch out she's armed and dangerous! :)Speaking of iPhones, it's funny that a lot of my friends ask what kind of camera I use and 95% of the time I'm just using my iPhone 4S.

These are all really fantastic dogs and I'm learning a lot about JA just lurking. Can't wait to meet one in real life.

@poeticdragon Next time I'm in-state I'll definitely send you a message :) I was telling Tara about my planned move to northern Nevada in January, so some road tripping is definitely on the To-Do list! I was also born in Walnut Creek and have most of my dad's family in the Bay area, love California!